


Chocolates and Roses

by ilupant



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, Zen would never let a Valentine's Day be boring, but rest assured, quarantine has y'all stuck inside, scavenger hunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28903254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilupant/pseuds/ilupant
Summary: Due to the virus, you and Zen are stuck inside for Valentine's Day. Despite that, your boyfriend goes out of his way to ensure that you feel loved and happy.(Commissioned by @quirky-and-kind on Tumblr)
Relationships: Zen | Ryu Hyun & Main Character, Zen | Ryu Hyun/Main Character, Zen | Ryu Hyun/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 37





	Chocolates and Roses

**Author's Note:**

> This is a commission written for @quirky-and-kind on Tumblr! I take commissions through Tumblr and Ko-fi, and both of those links are in my bio here.
> 
> This work was originally posted on my Tumblr (@ilupant)

You weren’t sure what you expected for Valentine’s Day, but you definitely hadn’t anticipated being stuck in your room for the first part of the day. You could hear Zen bumbling around outside the door, setting things up and occasionally knocking them back over.

He had coaxed you into your shared bedroom about ten minutes ago with a grin, urging you to keep the door shut with promises that it would be worth it.

“Just for a little while, babe,” Zen had insisted, sporting an excited grin. 

When he was looking at you that way, how could you say no? So you relented for the time being, lounging on the bed and scrolling aimlessly through your phone as you listened to your boyfriend rummaging around.

It wasn’t too difficult for you to figure out what was going on. Today was Valentine’s Day and Zen had always been romantic at heart. You knew that it had been difficult for him to imagine spending the day indoors, as the virus had made most places inaccessible and unsafe. You had felt okay with staying out of the Valentine’s Day crowds, but Zen’s spirits had been crushed. 

So even though you hadn’t expected to be confined to the bedroom, you let Zen have his fun. It was the least that you could do. 

The knock on the door came quicker than you’d expected. Zen opened it, smiling at you from the doorway. His hair was ever so slightly mussed, but even in the light of the bedroom, his eyes were glimmering. His excitement was contagious, and you couldn’t help mirroring it with a grin of your own as you rose from the bed. 

“What was all of that noise?” You asked, approaching the doorway. Zen quickly took your hand in his, threading his fingers through yours. 

“It’s a surprise,” Zen told you as he led you back into the main room of the house. You looked around, eyes scanning over the surroundings, but you found that nothing looked particularly different. 

So what had all of the noise been about? You could have sworn you heard him moving things around. 

Your anticipation was growing. 

“Here,” Zen urged you to a stop and let go of your hands, still smiling. “Close your eyes,” he prompted.

Zen’s confidence was piquing your interest. He was clearly excited, and the mischievous glint in his eyes gave away the fact that he had something planned. Whatever it was, he was eager to share it with you. 

Who were you to say no?

So you closed your eyes, clasping your hands in front of you. You could hear Zen shuffle for a split second before he stilled again. “Hold out your hands, babe,” you could hear the smile in his voice as he waited. You raised your hands, palms up.

Zen’s fingers ghosted against your skin as he placed something in your hands. Instantly, your fingers curled around it, and it crinkled beneath your fingertips. 

_ Paper? _

“You can look now.”

Your eyes reopened and you looked down at the folded note in your hand. It was white, ruled paper, and you could see the indent of writing pressed into its fibers. You shot Zen a questioning look, but his eyes darted back down at the paper as if wordlessly urging you to open it. His lips were curved into a smile, and that was all of the encouragement that you needed. You unfolded the small sheet of paper to read the single sentence written within.

_ “Look for a blue vase in the place we see ourselves.” _

You cocked an eyebrow. The note was written in Zen’s familiar scrawl, a bit messy and haphazard. You looked back up at Zen, confusion apparent.

“What’s this?”

His smile widened a bit. You could tell that he was proud of himself. “It’s a clue!” 

_ A clue?  _

Your eyes darted back to read the words once more. Clearly, you were meant to search for something- a blue vase, to be exact. “You mean like, a scavenger hunt?” You asked.

Zen nodded. “Exactly!”

It was endearing to see Zen so enthusiastic. You had known that he would have made Valentine’s Day as special as he could for you, despite the circumstances. To him, this day was one of many opportunities to show you just how much he loved you and cared for you. Having an entire day dedicated to making his girlfriend happy was a dream come true for Zen. You should have known that quarantine wouldn’t have stopped him. You hadn’t even noticed that he was planning something like this, and the thought of Zen secretly constructing something so considerate warmed your heart.

How could you possibly refuse something this thoughtful?

“This is such a sweet idea,” you smiled at Zen. “I didn’t even know that you were planning something like this. How did you keep it a secret?”

Zen beamed at your praise, his cheeks dusted a faint pink. “I had to do something for you for Valentine’s Day. Just because we can’t go anywhere doesn’t mean it’s not still an opportunity to spoil my girlfriend.”

Zen’s arms snuck around your waist, pulling you a little bit closer. You could smell his cologne, a mix of sandalwood and something else- smooth and faint. Zen leaned down and planted a kiss onto your lips, holding you in place for a few seconds. He pulled away just far enough to be able to speak. 

“You should get started, babe,” his breath ghosted across your lips. You hummed in response, and he pulled back away, cheeks rosy, to allow you on your way.

Your own face was warm, and you couldn’t help smiling as you looked back down at the clue.

_ Look for a blue vase in the place we see ourselves. _

“The place we see ourselves, huh?” You mused aloud, eyes scanning around the room again. You mulled the words over in your head, trying to put two and two together.

Your eyes moved from one picture frame to another. Though there were a few photographs of you and Zen around the house, none of them were big enough to conceal a vase. But, if it was a  _ place _ that you were looking for…

“Ah!” You perked up, pivoting on your heel, and made your way to the bathroom. You opened the door and flicked on the lights. Directly on the counter, in front of the bathroom mirror, was a blue vase housing an assortment of red roses and baby’s breath. The blossoms were plump and bright, at the peak of their health, and there was a faint, sweet scent in the air. With a smile, you made your way over to the vase, leaning down to smell the roses. As you did, a flash of white caught your eyes, and you paused. You lifted your hand to pluck the card from its plastic holder and snuck a glance at your boyfriend.

Zen was grinning at you. You returned the smile with a quirk of your eyebrows before flipping over the card.

  
  


_ “Congratulations, sweetie! You’ve found the first item~ _

_ Next, you should look for a green box in the place that we cook.” _

  
  


“Well this one isn’t too hard” you joked, looking back at Zen. “But thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”

Zen flushed just a little bit, like your compliments had pierced him through the heart. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t get my girlfriend roses for Valentine’s Day?”

He reached over and took the vase from the counter, the flowers’ petals swaying as a result of the sudden movement. “Here, I’ll take this, so work on the next clue!”

You watched Zen balance the vase in his hands. You hadn’t seen him this excited for something in quite some time. You could tell he was in his element, holding the vase for you, watching you play this game that he’d prepared just to see you smile. He was practically glowing, and it endeared you to no end.

_ Cute. _

With that thought energizing you, you returned to the main part of the house. “Well, the place that we cook?” You mused aloud. “Couldn’t possibly be the kitchen, could it?”

You looked over the counters, checking behind the various items that had started to accumulate. You didn’t immediately see something until you glanced into one of the corners of the room. Behind the paper-towels was a flat green box, relatively muted in colour. Your lips curled into a grin as you removed the box from its hiding spot. You took a second to look at your boyfriend to gauge his reaction. His earlier excitement hadn’t abated. 

“Open it, babe,” came Zen’s encouragement, rubied eyes darting from you to the box. 

You tugged at the end of the ribbon, pulling it apart with ease, and opened the box. Within was a surprisingly diverse assortment of chocolates and truffles. On the inside of the box was a list of the different types, and you scanned over it briefly.

“What do you think?” Zen asked you, his arm finding its way around your shoulder. “I know we spend a lot of time working out and trying to be healthy, but it’s important to treat yourself, too.”

You met his gaze to find that his face wasn’t far from yours. Zen caught your eyes, still smiling, and leaned down to press another small kiss to your lips. Though it was little more than a peck, you could feel his sincerity. 

“Thank you, Zen,” you held his gaze. “You’ll have to share these with me.”

“Sure,” was his response. “But first, you have to finish the hunt.”

You looked back down in the box. Between the small, plastic holder and the cardboard edge of the box was a slip of paper. You pulled it out, set the chocolates aside, and opened the note.

  
  


_ “Look for a smaller yellow box atop the thing that takes us far away.” _

  
  


This hint was far vaguer than the rest. Your eyebrows furrowed, and you looked up at Zen. “What’s this supposed to mean?” You asked. “We don’t go anywhere far away. There’s a global pandemic.”

Zen reached out and poked your nose with his index finger, pleased by your confusion. “It’s a hint, babe,” he told you. “You’re supposed to think.”

Without a word, you looked back across the room, trying to figure out what could take you far away when you hardly left the house. The windowsills were clear, you didn’t have a car, and the shoes atop the shoe rack didn’t have any yellow boxes on them, either. 

This hint was considerably tougher than the last. 

Your eyes flickered across the room again, carefully scanning your surroundings, until they fell on the TV. 

You stopped. A slow smile spread onto your face, and without giving yourself a second to think you crossed the distance to the TV.

“Oh- babe! You’re sharp!” You could hear the grin in Zen’s voice as he followed you into the living room, and you knew that you were headed in the right direction. You looked the TV over, checked beside it, and scanned the TV cabinet. It was when you looked on the top of the TV that you found a small, yellow box waiting for you. 

You took the box with a victory grin and pulled the lid off.

Inside sat two small ‘ADMIT ONE’ tickets, a bright red, staring up at you. You took them gingerly, looking them over for a few seconds before you cocked an eyebrow at Zen.

“What’s up with these?” You asked. “We can’t actually go anywhere, right?”

Zen stuck his bottom lip out into a small pout, leaning towards you to look at the tickets over your shoulder. “No. But we can do something else.”

“Oh yeah?” You put the tickets back into the box and set it down on the TV cabinet. “And what’s that?”

Zen’s arms found their way around your waist and he pulled you close again. Your arms wrapped themselves around his neck loosely, like it had become instinct. It felt comfortable to be standing here with Zen, in his embrace, in the middle of his home. 

It felt right.

“I wanted to take you out for Valentine’s Day,” Zen told you, now a bit more serious. “But because of the virus, I can’t. I would have taken you out for a movie if I could have. It’s not the same, but we can still watch whatever you want in here. I know it doesn’t feel like a real Valentine’s Day, but I thought that if I got flowers, chocolate, and a movie, it might still feel special.”

You could have melted. 

You knew that Zen had been thinking about this, but you hadn’t known that he was taking it so seriously. He had gone out of his way to make this day as perfect as he could, secretly planning and purchasing small gifts when your eyes were averted. And you could tell by the look in his eyes that he was still worried it might not be good enough.

“Oh, Zen…” your voice trailed off for a second, hands moving to cup his cheeks. He seemed to know what you were thinking, and he leaned in to catch your lips in a slow, gentle kiss. This one was a bit longer than the last, filled with a bit more emotion. You ran your thumbs across the apple of his cheeks as you pulled away.

“This is perfect,” you reassured him. “It’s better than going to a movie. You put so much effort into this for me, and I can see that. Thank you.”

Zen’s lips curled upwards just the slightest bit. There was a small flush to his milky skin, nearly transparent, but you could tell that he was pleased. It was easy to see that a part of him had felt slightly insecure- anxious, perhaps, that you wouldn’t have been satisfied.

You couldn’t imagine feeling discontent. This was more than you had expected.

“As long as you feel loved and happy, that’s all that matters to me,” Zen’s voice was gentle.

“And I do,” you told him. “Though I feel kind of bad that I didn’t plan anything like this for you. This is so much effort.”

Finally, Zen’s smile returned completely. 

“It’s nothing,” he spoke like he was savoring your words, basking in the pride he felt at making you happy. “What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I couldn’t do this?”

You returned Zen’s smile with one of your own, holding his gaze. Though you didn’t say anything, you knew that you would have to find a way to gift him something just as precious as this scavenger hunt. But for now, you would let him have this victory. 

The entire room felt gentle. You felt warm, and Zen looked happy.

This was much better than you could have hoped for.

It was perfect.


End file.
